Animation Nation

Pixar's John Lasseter is a sage for solid advice pertaining to the animation industry, creatively and otherwise, and there's good reason for it of course. Take a look at Lasseter's 7 Points. Solid fundamental advice for all filmmakers. They've been published in both the General Discussion Forum and the Education Forum of AN.

China is very serious about their animation. They recently opened a $690 million production facility close to Beijing. To put it in perspective, last year's feature animated film 'Despicable Me' released by Universal Studios had a production budget of $69 million. The money spent on this facility could produce ten feature films comparable to that movie.

Willie Downs is an animation student with an ambitious and generous idea.

He's started the Animator Letters Project and his goal is to compile a series of hand written letters contributed by professional animators which describe how they got into the industry and encourage aspiring animators to pursue their dreams of making it into the biz. Once he has enough letters collected, he plans to publish a book and use the proceeds to help fund the education of up and coming animators who can't afford the expense of their education.

To find out more about the Animator Letters Project visit the site that Willie has set up. You can also visit the topic that Willie started on the AN Forums by which he brought it to the attention of the community.

Since 1999, AnimationNation.com has been the pioneer among industry centric forums. We've helped to highlight, promote and foster important issues within the community for the benefit of animation artists within our industry and beyond. We've established an extraordinary legacy and have affected the history of the animation community in many positive ways.

Previously, our forums have been something separate from our homepage. With this new format, we can bring our renowned forums directly to our members, readers and visitors who frequent the site through the homepage.

We're excited about this new feature and are looking forward to further servicing the community by showcasing forum topics via the AN homepage.